Marine (Scotland) Act 2010

Marine (Scotland) Act 2010

Scottish Parliament
Long title	An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision in relation to functions and activities in the Scottish marine area, including provision about marine plans, licensing of marine activities, the protection of the area and its wildlife including seals and regulation of sea fisheries; and for connected purposes.
Territorial extent	Scotland
Dates
Royal assent	10 March 2010
Status: Current legislation

On 10 March 2010, Scotland's Marine Bill received Royal Assent, making it the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

The Marine (Scotland) Act provides a framework which will help balance competing demands on Scotland's seas. It introduces a duty to protect and enhance the marine environment and includes measures to help boost economic investment and growth in areas such as marine renewables.

The main measures include:

• Marine planning: a new statutory marine planning system to sustainably manage the increasing, and often conflicting, demands on our seas
• Marine licensing: a simpler licensing system, minimising the number of licences required for development in the marine environment to cut bureaucracy and encourage economic investment
• Marine conservation: improved marine nature and historic conservation with new powers to protect and manage areas of importance for marine wildlife, habitats and historic monuments
• conservation: much improved protection for seals and a new comprehensive licence system to ensure appropriate management when necessary
• Enforcement: a range of enhanced powers of marine conservation and licensing

Stakeholders

Wildlife organisations, such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, welcomed the new laws.

• RSPB Scotland: Marine Environment Inquiry / Written evidence to the Environment and Rural Development Committee of the UK Government, December 2006

See also

• Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999
• Marine Scotland, the Scottish Government’s marine management directorate
• List of Acts of the Scottish Parliament from 1999
• Marine Protected Area (MPA)
• Conservation biology
• Fisheries management, fish farms
• Marine conservation
• World Commission on Protected Areas
• Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, covering England and Wales

External links

• Marine and Fisheries pages Scottish Government website